


Only a Mistborn Could Understand

by maximusoctavious



Series: Only a Mistborn Could Understand [1]
Category: Cosmere - Brandon Sanderson, Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-19
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-04-15 14:39:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4610520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maximusoctavious/pseuds/maximusoctavious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elend learns that Vin was lying to him earlier than in the book, and their break up ends up much worse. Vin goes through more pain than she would ever deserve, and has to resort to seeking help from the one woman she despises the most.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Only a Mistborn Could Understand

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Mistborn](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/137922) by Brandon Sanderson. 



The grand doors to Keep Venture opened with surprisingly little noise as Vin strolled in with Sazed by her side. They must have been particularly balanced and oiled for the night’s events, as Vin remembered them groaning like a guttural beast on the previous balls she had attended at this mansion. What was it that made tonight so special? The servants and guards attending the walkways and entrances were also more primped than usual, coats ironed to be as wrinkleless as fresh parchment, armor polished such that Vin could see herself reflected on the breastplates. She subtly checked her hair and dress on the reflections in the armor; the blue-belled sleeveless gown flared out gracefully to the white-hemmed skirt, and the deep blue matched her dark brown feathered hair wonderfully tonight. She also wore gloves of a matching blue that went up to her mid-bicep along with a necklace of finger-nail sized sapphires and soft blue slippers with lace that completed her image gracefully. She could hardly believe that just a couple months ago she didn’t understand the unique satisfaction of a well-styled outfit.

As they walked down the halls toward the ballroom, she noticed more irregularities in the decoration for the festivities. Each of the cream tablecloths were pressed and folded exactly so, not a wrinkle or spot to be seen and not a smidgen out of alignment. All of the oil lamps set on the columns that lined the stone hallway were trimmed and shone brightly. Even the tiles shone with a reflective polish that had certainly taken hours for the skaa servants to perfect.

“Something’s different, Sazed,” Vin whispered to her companion, “I don’t remember Straff ever having his servants put this much effort into presentation for a ball.”

He had already noticed, judging by his nod before responding, “There might have been something we missed before we arrived, perhaps arriving late tonight was not a wise decision.”

Another silent pair of doors opened by servants let them into the ballroom, and a wall of sound hit the two. House Venture’s ballroom was still as grand as she remembered, tables and court members set on four sides of a great square twenty yards to a side. Pillars draped with black  lace held up the second floor balcony lining all four sides. The party goers had all finished their meals, but there were only a few couples gracefully spinning to the music on the open floor in the center. All of the guests had formed tight circles for conversation, and there was little to no mingling between the groups. It appeared that the ones dancing were only married or established couples. What in the Lord’s name was going on?

“We’ve missed something, Sazed. You should head to the Terrisman’s dining hall and try to figure out exactly what it is. I’ll try my best here.”

“As you command, my lady.” He nodded and bowed before quickly striding off, the apprehensive look on his face that gave Vin pause. If Sazed was concerned enough for his cool demeanor to break then something was certainly wrong.

Vin glanced over the guests, taking in the scene and trying to find a familiar face she might be able to talk to. _No sign of Shan yet, thankfully_ , she thought. At the opposite end of the balconies were Straff Venture and his personally guests dined, ruling over the ball. Vin decided she would look along the main floor first before trying the encircling balcony, if she didn’t find out what was going on by talking to guests on the first floor then Elend would likely be able to help inform her. Suddenly making eye contact with Lord Idren Seeris, she smiled and set out toward his chatting group as he acknowledged her with a quick nod. He was a cousin to House Elarial, and she had danced with the gentleman several times on past occasions.

She took in the other members of his group and smiled at them each, two ladies and two lords, she knew one Lord Yestal from dancing with him and knew the other guests at least passingly. For some reason they each gave her cold stares as she joined in among the circle, which only raised Vin’s hackles even more.

“It’s wonderful seeing Keep Venture in such a grand state, don’t you think?” Vin asked the group spritely, trying to maintain composure.

“Yes, it truly is.” One of the ladies curtly replied, then with a quick glance to the woman beside her, “I’m afraid I feel a spot on my makeup that I must immediately attend to, a moment please.”

“I’ll join you,” Said her friend as they both suddenly walked away from the group.

Vin watched them go, frowning.

“Ah, I’m afraid I see my Steward there waving me over to him. We mustn’t keep him waiting, coming brother?” The lordling at least gave a better act as he walked off with his apparent brother close behind him, but Vin didn’t see any Terrismen at all in the general direction in which they were headed. _I haven’t been treated like this since my first few appearances as Vallette, what in the world was going on?_

Lord Idren’s expression hadn’t changed from his impassive frown, and he adjusted his spectacles before giving an apologetic look and walking toward another group a little way off. Vin was left standing alone, trying not to gawk after the embarrassing exchange that had just occurred.

 _What’s going on?_ she thought with increasing trepidation. _Is this Shan’s work? Could she somehow turn an entire room of people against me?_

No, that would take far too much effort, wouldn’t it? Vin looked around again, taking a closer look at the nobility. Something was off with the guests. Now that she was among them it was easier to tell, but you had to be paying close attention in order to notice it. There was a tension among the partygoers, the way they spoke to one another in close clusters, how the excitement of court intrigue was missing from their eyes.

Vin tried joining another group, and the result was far worse than her first attempt. They all outright ignored her greeting, continuing the conversation as if she weren’t there. Vin was so shaken that she could only handle a few moments before retreating from the group, and she noticed as she walked away that Lord Idren’s group had reformed with exactly the same members as before. Vin’s apprehension was growing worse by the moment, her instincts telling her to slink away and never appear before these people again. But she was better than that, she wasn’t just the skaa street thief anymore, she had to keep going.

_I need to try the balcony, maybe Elend can help me._

Picking up the front of her dress to clear her feet, Vin hurried to the nearest staircase and climbed the steps to the balcony. Once on the second floor she all but ran to Elend’s reading alcove where they first met, he hated hosting guests and always would read his books in the cubby to frustrate his father. She didn’t care if she looked desperate as she rushed across the balcony, she needed to feel safe, she needed to feel welcome by at least someone. She saw lamplight coming from the alcove, and she began to slow down her pace, catching her breath so that she wouldn’t look too winded as she walked around the corner into the cubby.

But he wasn’t there. The alcove was empty, and Vin’s heart sank.

 _There’s no way he could possibly be there_ , she thought as she looked further down the balcony toward Straff’s seating area. She had to walk a bit in that direction so she could see the faces, but the delay only allowed time for her worries to grow worse. _Why would he give in to his father? What is wrong with these people tonight?_

And there he was. Seated on his father’s right at the head table, without any expression that Vin could read. She approached the opening to the balcony dining area and stood at the threshold, staring at him with a sullen heart. She was hoping he would notice her without too much time passing by, but it took around five minutes for his friend sitting next to him to nudge his elbow and point him in her direction after seeing her. For some reason his expression soured before he slowly got up and walked to Vin, who was still at the edge of the dining area. Thankfully, few people took notice as he wove between the tables toward her; she didn’t think she could take any more bad attention at the moment. But why did Elend look at her like that? Why did his expression feel as if talking to her was the last thing he wanted to do right now? Vin almost ducked her head and slunked away right then and there, but his stopping in front of her negated that possibility.

“Elend, what’s going on? Why are you sitting with your father?” Vin quietly asked as he stopped, unconsciously grabbing at her skirt

“It’s the duty of the House’s Heir to help maintain his father’s image, Lady Valette,” he replied,  “Especially at such a significant event as this one.”

“But why is tonight so important? What has happened?” His demeanor frightened her.

“We’re not going to be seeing each other for a long time, my lady.”

“That doesn’t answer my question, Elend.” Vin was trying to keep her anxiety in control but was having difficulty.

“This is the last ball that will be happening for a while. Tension between the houses is about to burst, and it’s not going to be safe for the next few months, maybe years. You must be worse at these games than I had imagined, Mistress.” He folded his arms with a sniff, “I see you’ve finally reached your limit at maintaining that image.”

His last statement was true, but it was only because of the things he had just said. Vin couldn’t move, tears were welling up in her eyes. She was starting to fall apart. Why was his voice so harsh?

“What are you talking about Elend? Why are you like this?” Vin’s voice was barely loud enough for him to hear, but she couldn’t help it. Elend was supposed to be one of the good noblemen.

“You’ve been lying to me, Valette. If that even is your real name.”

_No. How could he have figured out? Why now?_

“I had some of my men trail you several times after parties for the past couple months. One of them managed to infiltrate Renoux’s manor and gather some information about you.” Elend’s hunched shoulders and pained expression showed a hurt that Vin dearly wished she could console. He looked up to see her staring at him, and his face straightened to a cold straight-mouthed expression that she couldn’t read. Vin had to stop this situation from becoming a disaster.

She stepped toward him, pleading, “Please Elend, not here. Come with me and I’ll explain everything.” She rested a hand on his arm as she spoke softly and looked up into his eyes, but his expression didn’t change.

“I already know enough, Valette. Whatever we’ve had together for these past few months, it’s over.” The finality with which he spoke was a spike through Vin’s heart, and with a nod he started to step back and turn away.

“Stop!” Vin reached out and grabbed his wrist, she couldn’t let things end like this, she needed him. “Please just talk to me Elend, don’t abandon me, not now!”

With a start she realized that she had spoken much louder than she had intended, and as she looked around it looked like the entire dining hall was staring at them in curiosity. It seemed Elend was just as shocked as she was at her outburst, but he regained his composure again in a fraction of a moment.

“No. I will not hear any more from you. If you know what’s good for you then you would leave right now. Don’t make me embarrass you any further than you’ve already done yourself.” With a twist of his arm he escaped her grip and quickly turned his back to walk away in haste.

“You were supposed to be better than this, Elend. You said you wanted to be more understanding and reasonable. Why are you doing this?” She somehow spoke with a steady voice despite her pain, and it seemed to get to him since he stopped mid-stride.

He stood and sighed for a moment before speaking up again, “You just don’t know when to quit, do you?” And with a quick turn to face her again, he stared her down with cold anger in his eyes. “You’ve been lying to me about everything that was important, Valette. You got me to trust you by playing my attraction to you. You manipulated me in order to obtain critical information about my House. All of this so that I could be included in your political scheming.”

“It’s not like that!” Vin protested, taking another step toward him “and it’s not all a lie, please Elend! Just come with me and we can talk somewhere else.”

“Leave me!” His voice was still cold, but the force behind it made it feel like he was shouting at her. Vin saw the glisten of tears welling up in his eyes. “You don’t belong here, skaa. If you don’t want to be taken away by force then I suggest you walk away now. Forget me and be gone, don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”

She was losing control, her fear was driving her now, and she took a step back.

“This isn’t what I wanted, Elend.” She quietly uttered, her voice breaking.

She turned and hastily walked away, each step faster than the last. She was holding back tears, but once she made it out of the dining hall she broke out into a run, and the tears began to flow. She didn’t know where she was going. Keep Venture’s inner halls were a labyrinth, and she had already made several sporadic turns in her haste to get away. Why didn’t he even try to listen to her? How could he so easily end it?

She was running out of breath, and she began to slow down. Surely after running for that long she was far enough away in the passage ways that no one would hear her now. She walked to a small alcove in the side of the hallway and put her back to the wall, sliding down and sitting on the floor, not caring about the dress. Her entire facade was broken, what did a silly dress matter if the court knew that she wasn’t nobility now? She held her head in her hands and let the sobs rack her body.

 _Let the pain flow, Vin._ Reen’s voice. It had been a while since she heard him. _I told you that everyone betrays you eventually, didn’t I?_

Vin didn’t know how long she sat there holding her head, but she started to hear footsteps further down the stone hallway and tried to get ahold of herself.

She took a deep breath, stood up, and tried to settle her dress.  It didn’t deserve this kind of treatment, it was a beautiful garment. Pulling out a handkerchief to dab at her eyes, she realized after a moment that it was the one Elend had given her the last time they had spoken. She clenched it in a fist upon the realization, wanting to throw it away and stamp on it, but she couldn’t go through with it. This small square of soft fabric was the only thing she that showed he had ever cared for her.    

Vin dropped the token to the ground, abandoning it, before pulling out the lacy, blue  handkerchief that matched her dress. She always kept two on her in case of an emergency.

She also took out a small mirror she kept hidden to check her makeup, which was horribly ruined. She used the handkerchief to wipe off the tear streaks of eyeliner, and dabbed to level everything out as best she could. It looked awful, but with that little bit of work it was much better than she had looked before. After hiding away the accessories, Vin was ready to at least leave the ball with some shred of dignity. She steeled herself with a deep breath, and strode towards the footsteps she had heard.


End file.
